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If you’re looking for a delicious bite-sized appetizer or crowd-pleasing potluck food, this easy homemade mini sausage rolls recipe with puff pastry is it!
Every year I get excited when The Great British Bake-Off (ahem, The Great British Baking Show as it’s called here in the U.S.) airs. At my behest, my fiancé watches it with me, but I think he secretly enjoys it too.
We both cheer on our favorite contestants, laugh through just about the entire show, and then get inspired to bake up something delicious. (Okay, so maybe it’s just me on that last point, but he’s willing to eat whatever I make!)
Last season of the show (Season 14 in 2023) they made sausage rolls. And ever since, both Dan and I have been dying to try them!
This recipe is what I came up with. I used store-bought bulk turkey sausage and dressed it up with onion and garlic sautéed in butter, herbs, and a blend of spices. I also went with store-bought puff pastry to save time here, but if you prefer homemade, you can use the shortcrust pastry recipe that I use in my individual steak and ale pies recipe.
These are a new favorite at my house! The end result is crispy, flaky pastry with a flavorful sausage filling. The sautéed onion not only lends a ton of flavor, but it also helps keep the sausage from drying out. These little bites are perfect for nibbling, and make a great appetizer, picnic food, or potluck dish for any party.
And you won’t find any soggy bottoms here! I share my best tips to prevent the sausage rolls from being soggy on the bottom; these savory bites are crisp all around.
Why You’re Going to Love This Recipe
- Save time without sacrificing flavor – To make these rolls, we use a homemade sausage filling and store-bought puff pastry for the best of both worlds.
- They’re versatile – These work well as an appetizer or little bite all year long. They’re as great for a summer picnic as they are for a holiday party. And they’d make a good after-school snack as well!
- You can make them ahead of time – Mini sausage rolls freeze well either uncooked or cooked, and you if they’re uncooked you can bake them from frozen. How’s that for an easy Christmas appetizer?!
Ingredients
Breaking It Down
Ingredients Explained
In this section I explain the ingredients and give substitution ideas where applicable. For the full recipe (including the ingredient amounts), see the recipe card below.
Sausage Mixture Ingredients:
- Unsalted butter – To sauté the onion and garlic. This also adds a bit of richness because turkey can be lean.
- Yellow onion and garlic – For savory aromatic flavor.
- Bulk ground turkey sausage – You can use any type of bulk ground sausage you like, or go with regular ground turkey or regular ground chicken.
- Egg – Acts as a binder here.
- Thyme – This fresh herb adds a woodsy, citrusy flavor. If you don’t have fresh thyme on hand, you can use 3/4 teaspoon dried thyme leaves. Instead of fresh thyme, you can use fresh rosemary, oregano, or marjoram (or a combination of them).
- Salt – Salt is a natural flavor enhancer that pulls out the flavors of everything else.
- Fennel seeds – This is a classic ingredient in sausage. The sweet, licorice-like anise flavor of fennel cuts through rich, umami flavor of meat.
- Dried ginger – Or you can use 1 teaspoon of freshly-grated ginger instead of dried.
- White pepper – Adds a peppery bite with a hint of ginger.
- Ground nutmeg – Another classic spice in sausage, nutmeg brings both a sweetness and bitter flavor. It adds warm, earthy, peppery, and lemony notes.
- Ground sage – Sage is a classic pairing with poultry; if you prefer, you can use 1 teaspoon of minced fresh sage leaves instead of ground.
- Cayenne pepper – We use just a touch of cayenne; because we add so little, it helps create a balanced flavor profile, rather than making this sausage spicy hot. If you prefer hot sausage, feel free to add up to 1 teaspoon of cayenne. (Or you can use hot paprika instead of cayenne.)
Other Ingredients:
- Frozen puff pastry – You’ll need one 17.3 ounce box of frozen puff pastry (this size box comes with 2 sheets, you’ll need them both for this recipe). Thaw the pastry in the fridge overnight, and then let it sit at room temperature for 15 minutes before rolling out so it’s easy to work with.
- Egg – We lightly beat an egg with a little water to make egg wash to brush on the top of the pastry. This helps it turn a beautiful rich golden brown color.
Optional Serving Suggestions:
- Dijon mustard
- Ketchup
How to Make Homemade Sausage Rolls with Puff Pastry
Make the Sausage Filling
- Heat the butter in a medium skillet over medium heat. Once melted, add the onion and cook until starting to soften, about 3 minutes, stirring occasionally. Add the garlic and cook 1 minute more, stirring constantly. Cool 5 minutes.
- Add the onion/garlic mixture, turkey sausage (or ground turkey), egg, thyme, salt, fennel seeds, dried ginger, white pepper, nutmeg, sage, and cayenne pepper to a large bowl.
- Use your hands to combine.
Assemble the Sausage Rolls
- Place a sheet of puff pastry onto a work surface, and roll it out just so it’s even (it should be about 9 to 10 inches long). Cut it in half lengthwise. Repeat with the other sheet of puff pastry so you have 4 puff pastry rectangles.
- Divide the sausage mixture into 4 equal parts. Roll each piece of sausage into a log that’s slightly shorter than the puff pastry. Place each sausage log in the center of each pastry. Lightly brush both sides of puff pastry with egg wash.
- For each log, fold both sides of the puff pastry over onto the sausage filling. Flip them over so each log is seam-side-down.
Chill and Bake
- Cut each log into 8 equal pieces. Arrange the pieces on a half sheet pan lined with parchment paper or a silpat baking mat. Pop the whole tray into the fridge and chill for 15 minutes, and then lightly brush the tops with egg wash.
- Bake until the pastry is puffed and golden, and the sausage is fully cooked, about 25 minutes.
Storage
Once they’re cooled to room temperature, you can store these covered in the fridge for up to 3 days.
Reheating
You can use the oven or air fryer to reheat these.
For the oven method, preheat the oven to 350F. Arrange the rolls on a baking tray so they aren’t touching. Bake until warm throughout, about 10 to 15 minutes. (If they start over-browning before they’re warm, drape a piece of foil on top.)
To use the air fryer, preheat the air fryer to 350F. Arrange the rolls in the basket so they aren’t touching. Air fry until warm, about 5 to 7 minutes, flipping once.
Make Ahead – Freezing Sausage Rolls
Both cooked and uncooked sausage rolls will keep in the freezer for about 3 months.
How to Freeze Uncooked Sausage Rolls
Once the logs are cut into bite-sized sausage rolls, arrange them on a half sheet pan so they aren’t touching. Freeze them until they’re frozen solid, about 4 hours. Put the frozen sausage rolls into a zip-top plastic freezer bag that’s labeled with the date, contents, and heating instructions.
The real time-saver here is that you can bake these mini sausage rolls from frozen! To do so, arrange them on a baking tray, brush the pastry tops with a little egg wash, and bake in a 400F oven until the pastry is puffed and golden and the sausage is fully cooked, about 35 minutes.
How to Freeze Cooked Sausage Rolls
If you prefer, you can freeze cooked sausage rolls to enjoy later. If you’re freezing baked sausage rolls, let them cool to room temperature before freezing.
To serve, defrost the mini sausage rolls. I like to pull them out of the freezer the night before, and let them thaw in the fridge overnight. Arrange them on a baking tray (no need to brush with egg wash), and pop them into a 350F oven until warm, about 20 minutes.
Cook’s Tips
- If you want to add fruit to your sausage rolls, fresh apple is a great choice! Go for a crisp sweet (such as Honeycrisp) or crisp sweet-tart apple (such as Granny Smith). Peel and core the apple, dice it small (about 1/4-inch pieces), and cook it along with the onion to remove some of the liquid.
- You don’t have to make these into mini sausage rolls. Instead of cutting each of the 4 sausage logs into 8 small pieces, simply bake the logs. You’ll get 4 servings that are big enough for breakfast, lunch, or supper if you pair it with a salad or other vegetable.
- Sauce for serving is completely optional, but if you enjoy dipping, here are some sauces that pair well with these rolls: ketchup, dijon mustard, barbecue sauce, piccalilli relish, or fruit chutney. Or get creative and use whatever sauce you like!
Sausage Rolls FAQs
No one likes puff pastry (or shortcrust for that matter) with a soggy bottom! Here are my best tips for making sure your pastry bites are crispy all around:
1. Make sure your filling isn’t watery. To ensure this, we sauté the onion and garlic on the stovetop before adding it to the filling to cook off some of the liquid in the vegetables. The other ingredient that can contribute to a watery mixture is the sausage or ground meat itself. It’s best to use fresh meat, but if you’re using meat that was frozen, make sure to drain off any liquid that accumulated during thawing.
2. Don’t skip chilling the rolls before baking. Once the sausage rolls are assembled and lined up on the baking tray, it’s important to pop the whole thing in the fridge to let it chill briefly before baking. This allows the butter in the puff pastry to firm up so that it can work its magic in the oven. (The cold butter in the hot oven creates steam, which in turn makes super flaky, crisp pastry!)
3. Be careful not to overcrowd your baking tray. These little beauties won’t really expand much while baking. However, they still need a bit of space so that air can circulate properly and they bake evenly
4. Make sure your oven is hot enough, and preheat it before baking. For this recipe, we’re baking at 400F, which is a fairly hot oven, to help ensure that our pastries are as crisp and flaky as possible. Make sure your oven is preheated before you pop the pastries in, and if you’re not sure if your oven is calibrated properly, you can get an oven thermometer to check.
Also called a deluxe sausage roll, this is the posh (read: fancy) equivalent of an ordinary sausage roll! You can use unique ingredients like dried fruit and nuts, exotic spices, or fresh herbs to take a regular sausage roll to the next level.
Here in the U.S., pigs in a blanket is a similar dish to British sausage rolls. However, they’re not exactly the same thing.
Pigs in a blanket is typically hot dogs or cocktail sausages wrapped in dough (it can be puff pastry dough, crescent roll dough, biscuit dough, etc.) and baked. It’s usually a quick and easy appetizer or party food.
On the other hand, sausage rolls are made of a raw sausage meat mixture wrapped up in shortcrust, rough puff pastry, or puff pastry. It can be served as pub food, picnic food, or part of a holiday buffet table.
That’s up to you! It’s common to eat these either hot, cold, or at room temperature (personally, I like them warm).
More Sausage Recipes to Try
- Low Carb Meatza Recipe (aka Low Carb Meat Pizza) with Italian Sausage
- Sausage-Stuffed Acorn Squash Served in Squash Bowls
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Mini Sausage Rolls Recipe with Puff Pastry
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Ingredients
Sausage Mixture:
- 2 tablespoons unsalted butter
- 3/4 cup diced yellow onion about 1 small onion
- 2 large cloves garlic crushed
- 1 1/2 pounds bulk ground turkey sausage or ground turkey or ground chicken
- 1 large egg
- 1/2 tablespoon minced fresh thyme leaves or 3/4 teaspoon dried thyme leaves
- 1 teaspoon salt
- 3/4 teaspoon fennel seeds
- 1/2 teaspoon dried ginger
- 1/2 teaspoon white pepper
- 1/4 teaspoon ground nutmeg
- 1/4 teaspoon ground sage
- 1/8 teaspoon cayenne pepper
Other:
- 17.3 ounce box frozen puff pastry thawed in the fridge overnight and then let it sit at room temperature for 15 minutes before rolling out (this size box comes with 2 sheets, you’ll need them both for this recipe)
- 1 large egg lightly beaten with 2 tablespoons water (for egg wash)
Optional Serving Suggestions:
Instructions
- For the sausage mixture, heat the butter in a medium skillet over medium heat. Once melted, add the onion and cook until starting to soften, about 3 minutes, stirring occasionally. Add the garlic and cook 1 minute more, stirring constantly. Cool 5 minutes.
- Add the onion/garlic mixture, turkey sausage (or ground turkey), egg, thyme, salt, fennel seeds, dried ginger, white pepper, nutmeg, sage, and cayenne pepper to a large bowl. Use your hands to combine.
- Preheat the oven to 400F.
- Place a sheet of puff pastry onto a work surface, and roll it out just so it’s even (it should be about 9 to 10 inches long). Cut it in half lengthwise. Repeat with the other sheet of puff pastry so you have 4 puff pastry rectangles.
- Divide the sausage mixture into 4 equal parts. Roll each piece of sausage into a log that’s slightly shorter than the puff pastry. Place each sausage log in the center of each pastry.
- Lightly brush both sides of puff pastry with egg wash, and fold them over onto the sausage filling. Flip them over so each log is seam-side-down, and cut each log into 8 equal pieces.
- Arrange the pieces on a half sheet pan lined with parchment paper or a silpat baking mat. Pop the whole tray into the fridge and chill for 15 minutes. Lightly brush the tops with egg wash.
- Bake until the pastry is puffed and golden, and the sausage is fully cooked, about 25 minutes.
- Serve with any dipping sauce you like.
Notes
- Nutrition Information: The nutritional information for this recipe was calculated without any optional serving suggestions.
- Storage: Once they’re cooled to room temperature, you can store these covered in the fridge for up to 3 days.
- Reheating: You can use the oven or air fryer to reheat these.
- For the oven method, preheat the oven to 350F. Arrange the rolls on a baking tray so they aren’t touching. Bake until warm throughout, about 10 to 15 minutes. (If they start over-browning before they’re warm, drape a piece of foil on top.)
- To use the air fryer, preheat the air fryer to 350F. Arrange the rolls in the basket so they aren’t touching. Air fry until warm, about 5 to 7 minutes, flipping once.
Nutrition
Nutritional information is automatically calculated and should be used as an approximate.
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I’m the writer, recipe developer, photographer, and food stylist behind this blog. I love finding the human connection through something we all do every day: eat! Food is a common ground that we can all relate to, and our tables tell a story. It’s my goal to inspire you to get in the kitchen, try something new, and find a favorite you didn’t know you had.
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